Cushioned container



y 1956 R. PLUNKETT 3,250,455

CUSHIONED CONTAINER Filed June 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROBERT PLUNKETT ATTORNEYS May 10, 1966 R. PLUNKETT CUSHIONED CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 29, 1964 FIG. 4

so INVENTOR BY ROBERT PLUNKETT ATTORNEYS FIG. 6

United States Patent 3,250,455 CUSHIONED CONTAINER Robert Plunkett, Harrington Park, N..I., asslgnor to Federal Carton Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed June 29, 1964, Ser. No. 378,645 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-34) This invention is concerned with improvements in containers made of fibrous material and specially constructed to provide protection for articles which are peculiarly subject to damage in transit, thereby reducing their value.

Among the articles specially adapted for transit in the container of this invention are books, which are frequently damaged at the corners by blows encountered in transit. The containers presently used make no special provision for protection of books at the corners against crushing.

Another important factor in the transportation of articles, such as books, is the necessity for providing a container blank, which is adapted for high speed erection, deposit of the book therein when erected, closure and sealing thereof.

The container of this invention is specially designed for use in such an environment.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a single blank, fibrous container adapted for machine erection into a form which protects the object to be packaged around all of the edges thereof, with special protection at the corners in the case of rectangular objects.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container of this type, wherein the structure incorporated therein for cushioning purposes is naturallly biased to hug the packaged article and prevent its freedom of movement in the container.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiment of the invention selected for disclosure purposes and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In those drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the integral single piece blank from which the container of this "invention is formed;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, showing the con tainer in partially erected condition; v FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the container of FIGURE 2, illustrating the natural biasing of the tubular sidewalls into a converging relationship prior to the deposit of the book, for example, therein;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view, showing the book deposited in the container and illustrating how the tubular sidewalls hug the book, due to the containers inherent characteristics;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view with some parts broken away of the completely assembled container with the article therein;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged plan view, partly in section, of a corner of the assembly, illustrating the manner in which the cushioning construction for the corners is seated in assembled relationship.

The blank 10, as illustrated, is commonly made of suitable fibrous material, such as, for example, a multiply corrugated cardboard, in which the corrugations of the inner ply run vertically with respect to FIGURE 1, as can be gathered from the broken away portion of the bottom wall, as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The blank is machine cut from a sheet of the material to the form shown in FIGURE 1 and is then scored along score lines which have been indicated by the reference character S to subdivide it into a plurality of definitive panels. These panels include the bottom wall 12 having the end wall extensions 14 and 16, which in turn have the terminal cover extensions 18 and 20. The cover extension 20 is notched at the terminal corners to form an end 20a, the purpose of which will be described later. Extending at right angles to this assembly of panels are the connected panels 24, 28, 32 and 36 at one side and the panels 22, 26, 30 and 34 at the other side. This group of panels provides continuations of the sides of the bottom panel 12. The end panels 14 and 16 in turn have connected extensions. At one side the panels 14 and 16 have the extensions 40 and 44 and 48 and 52. At the other side the end panels 14 and 16 have the extensions 38 and 42 and 46 and 50. The extensions of the end panels 14 and 16 are disconnected from the extensions of the bottom panel by means of slits which are widened as shown at N into slots. This comprises the container blank and includes all of those structural features, with the exception that it is noted that the panels 30 and 32 are of slightly less width transversely of their long length than their related panels 22 and 24, for a purpose to be explained. The difference in width is small enough so that it is not practical to indicate it in the drawings.

These blanks are fed to an erecting machine which folds the panel assemblies 22, 26, 30 and 34; and 24, 28, 32 and 36 into tubular relationship, as clearly indicated in FIGURES. 3 and 4, which tubular formations are of generally rectangular cross section.

As will be seen in FIGURE 2, the panels 34 and 36 are superposed on the bottom wall 12 and are secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by means of an adhesive. Since, as shown in FIGURE 3, the panels 30 and 32 are of slightly less heighth than the associated panels 22 and 24, when the terminal panels 34 and 36 are glued in place the tubular formations will lean in wardly as clearly illustrated.

In' order to deposit the book between these tubular channels or sidewalls, the machine acts to tip them outwardly until the book is in place, whereupon they are released. By reason of their bias, to return to the position shown in FIGURE 3, they closely hug the sides of the book, as shown in FIGURE 4.

The machine then infolds the small panels so as to overlie the associated end panels 14 and 16, and they are secured in place by means of an adhesive at the free ends of the panels, as indicated at G in FIGURE 5. More specifically, for example, with regard to the small panels 49 and 44, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, panel 44 is folded in to overlie the panel 40 and the two together are then folded in so as to overlie the panel 14. The face of panel 44 adjacent the panel 14 has an adhesive applied, which secures the infolded small panels in place, as shown in FIGURE 2. There results then, as clearly shown in FIGURE 6, that at the ends of the end panels, as, for example at panel 16, there is a triple thickness of fibrous material positioned opposite the adjacent side of the book B. Thus, the corners of the book are protected at both faces. Because of the increase of thickness of the end panels, due to the infolded small panels, the tubular sidewalls are cut away to provide spaces for the excess thickness. This space is provided by the notches N, see FIGURE 6. The result is, as illustrated in FIG- URE 5, that the end walls are flush with the adjacent edges of the outer faces of the tubular sidewalls, as in the case of the panel 22. v The cover panels 18 and 25) are folded down on top of the assembly, as shown in FIGURE 5, so that the panel 18 overlies the terminal end 20a. The carton is sealed by means of an enclosing end overlying adhesive tape T.

The terminal end 20a is not necessary to a useful container, but its purpose is to permit the person who opens the carton to run a knife along the edge of the cover panel 18, to cut the tape T while preventing the point of the knife from damaging the contents of the container. The notches which form the terminal end 20a are dimensioned so that the end 20a covers the full distance between the inner edges of the tubular sidewall assemblies, which feature is also illustrated in FIGURE 5.

From the above description it will be apparent that the novel subject matter of this invention is capable of some variation in detail, and it is maintained, therefore, that the scope of protection afiorded hereby be determined by the appended claims and not be limited to the exact details of the specific embodiments selected for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed:

1. A container comprising an erected integral blank of fibrous material having a bottom wall, rectangular tubular side walls at an opposite pair of edges of said bottom wall, each tubular wall in turn having four walls, end walls at the remaining edges of said bottom wall, cover extensions of said end walls overlying the top faces of said tubular side walls and superposed extensions of said end walls forming multiple thickness cushions overlying the ends of said tubular walls, the ends of said tubular walls beingshorter than said bottom wall to provide spaces in which the associated infolded extensions nest.

2. A container comprising an erected integral blank of fibrous material having a bottom Wall, rectangular tubular side walls at an opposite pair of edges of said bottom wall, each tubular Wall in turn having four walls, end walls at the remaining edges of said bottom wall, cover extensions of said end Walls overlying the top faces of said tubular side walls and superposed extensions of said end walls forming multiple thickness cushions overlying the ends of said tubular Walls, one of said cover extensions overlapping the other at their terminal ends and a sealing tape secured over said overlapping ends.

3. A container comprising an erected integral blank of fibrous material having a bottom wall, rectangular tubular side walls at an opposite pair of edges of said bottorn'wall, each tubular Wall in turn having four walls,

end walls at the remaining edges of said bottom Wall, cover extensions of said end walls-overlying the top faces of said tubular side walls and superposed extensions of said end walls forming multiple thickness cushions overlying the ends of said tubular walls, said tubular side walls including side panels, the innermost of which is of less height than the outermost so that said tubular side walls are biased to lean inwardly when free of outside forces.

References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,081,068 12/1913 Vance. 1,174,012 2/ 1916 Bristol et a1. 229-40 1,207,899 12/1916 Grene. 1,331,009 2/1920 Ford. 2,318,198 5/ 1943 Clarke. 2,3 88,243 11/ 1945 Arneson. 3,034,697 5/ 1962 Frankenstein 229-31 3,116,005 12/ 19 63 Skoggs 229-40 FOREIGN PATENTS 758,120 10/1933 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner.

D. T. MOORHEAD, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING AN ERECTED INTEGRAL BLANK OF FIBROUS MATERIAL HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, RECTANGULAR TUBULAR SIDE WALLS AT AN OPPOSITE PAIR OF EDGES OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, EACH TUBULAR WALL IN TURN HAVING FOUR WALLS, END WALLS AT THE REMAINING EDGES OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, COVER EXTENSIONS OF SAID END WALLS OVERLYING THE TOP FACES OF SAID TUBULAR SIDE WALLS AND SUPERPOSED EXTENSIONS OF SAID END WALLS FORMING MULTIPLE THICKNESS CUSH- 